Pakistani students encouraged to apply to UK

British officials say new student, post-study work visas are being introduced

ISLAMABAD:

The United Kingdom (UK) is hopeful that more and more Pakistani students will pursue higher education in the British isles, given that flexibility in visas has been introduced in the wake of the novel coronavirus.

This was shared by the UK Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster on Tuesday while celebrating International Students Day.

“Pakistani students have always been a huge part of our community and we look forward to welcoming more of them to our world-leading universities,” Foster maintained, adding that the UK remains open to students despite the pandemic, and highlighted the flexibility introduced in its visa regime.

“We want the best and brightest [Pakistani students] to study in the UK, which is why we have made it easier to apply,” he stated, adding that a whopping 93% of Pakistani students who had applied were granted a student visa.

Talking about the new Student Route introduced by London, he explained that it promises to make the application process even more convenient for students while providing benefits such as applying up to six months in advance along with the opportunity to extend the visas from within the UK.

Foster shared that in response to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the UK introduced visa flexibility for students, including permitting remote study for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Moreover, he said that thousands of expired visas for Pakistani students were extended for free so that they could still travel to the UK.

He further mentioned that in the summer of 2021, the UK will introduce the ‘Graduate Route’, a new post-study work visa, which will allow eligible students to stay in the UK to work for up to three years after graduating from their respective programmes.

“Last year, over 5,000 Pakistani students were successfully granted a visa, which was a 20% increase on the previous year,” said British Deputy High Commissioner Mike Nithavrianakis, noting that this was a testament to the strengthening links between London and Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2020.